


Cat and King Canary

by ArabellaMoxie



Category: Tenkuu no Escaflowne | The Vision of Escaflowne
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-05 20:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaMoxie/pseuds/ArabellaMoxie
Summary: "Not everyone is eating soup late at night in bed in their expensive coats, Your Majesty.""Well, I was hungry and it seemed like a fine idea at the moment," Van said. "And to be fair, I wasn't theonlyperson in that bed at the time."





	Cat and King Canary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bard/gifts).



"You don't understand," Merle said. "I had one job. _One job_." 

She agitatedly paced back and forth, and her tail moved in a frantic counterpoint to her words. Even at the best of times, Merle tended to display all the serene composure of a trapped hummingbird, and this was not the best of times.

"'Get King Van to the ball on time,' they said. 'Make sure he isn't late,' they said." Merle's tail lashed back and forth furiously. "'Just a simple thing,' they said. And if I can't even manage _that simple thing_ , how are they ever going to trust me with something that's _actually_ important?" 

Her king, slowly working his way through the bright clothing hanging in his wooden wardrobe, reflected none of Merle’s alarm and irritation. His dark eyes were untroubled; his hands were unhurried.

Merle glared at him. “Are you listening to me?”

"This is hardly a test of your character,” Van said, “and you already have important responsibilities. After all, I just named you my High Advisor and Blessed Right Hand.” 

"Yeah, but I haven't had a chance to prove myself yet," Merle said. "And until I _prove_ myself, nobody is going to think I deserve the position. Everybody is going to think that it was nepotism." 

"Does it really count as nepotism," Van asked idly, "if one is not actually related to one's benefactor?"

"You know what I mean," Merle said. "And now I've failed in the very first task that your council gave me." 

Van was still rooting through the wooden wardrobe, but he paused long enough to glance back at Merle with a smile. "Nobody is going to blame you, Merle." 

"No," she wailed. "Everyone is going to blame _you_ , and how is that going to make _me_ look?" 

"Like the forbearing minder of an absent-minded king," Van said, turning back to the wardrobe. "Where's my green coat?" 

Merle emitted a hiss like steam erupting from a kettle. "You ruined it when you fell in that river, remember? When we were tracking those bandits?" 

"Ah, right," Van murmured. "What about my black coat? You know, the one with all the buttons?" 

"You lost it," Merle said, drawing out each word with dreadful emphasis, "in that card game on that pleasure barge with those bandits, once we finally tracked them down." 

"Oh, is that what happened to it?" Van said dreamily. "I do remember being cold that next morning. But the important thing is that we _did_ retrieve that idol from them." 

"Yes," Merle said through gritted teeth, “but only after you lost your coat, _and_ your boots, _and_ your hat." 

"Yes, I was _extremely_ cold the next morning. It's all coming back to me now," Van said, frowning at the wardrobe. "And also it's possible that I'm not a terribly good card player." 

Merle snorted as she seated herself on the edge of a trunk. "It's possible. From now on, when we need to play a card game with high stakes, _I'm_ the one who will be sitting at the table, Your Majesty." 

Van shrugged. "You'll get no argument from me. I found the rules very confusing. What about that red coat? You know, the really flashy one?" 

Merle stared at him. "The red coat? You mean the one that the temple gave to you? After you returned their idol to them?" 

"Yes, that's the one," Van said. "Where is that red coat?" 

"You mean that red coat with the silver dragons emblazoned up and down the back? The one that they said was a relic of the legendary hero who had founded the temple one hundred and fifty years ago?" 

"Yes, yes," Van said impatiently. "That red coat. Where is it?" 

"You mean the red coat of incalculable historical value," Merle said slowly, "the red coat that was a treasure in and of itself, the red coat that you _covered in soup when you were eating in bed last month_?" 

"Oh," Van said. "Right." He frowned thoughtfully. "You mean that stuff hasn't come out? Can't the people in the laundry chambers just--" and here he wiggled his fingers suggestively "--soak it or something? Rub some salt on it?" 

"Salt," Merle repeated grimly. 

"Hitomi tells me that it's good for getting out all sorts of things," Van said. He paused. "Well, she told me that it's good for getting out bloodstains, which is usually my concern."

"Well, they tried everything," Merle said. "Believe me, I heard _allll_ about it. They didn't know how you managed to ruin it so thoroughly. They wanted to know if you had _wanted_ to ruin it." 

"Certainly not," Van said. "But to be fair, that kind of spill could have happened to anyone." 

"Not everyone is eating soup late at night in bed in their expensive coats, Your Majesty." 

"Well, I was hungry and it seemed like a fine idea at the moment," Van said. "And to be fair, I wasn't the _only_ person in that bed at the time." 

Merle rolled her eyes. "But somehow I managed to drink _my_ soup without spilling it, Your Majesty." 

"Yes, yes," Van said. "But I think you had an unfair advantage, as you were considerably less drunk than I was." 

Merle grinned. "I can't help if I'm a lot better at holding my liquor, my king." 

Van tapped his fingers against the edge of the wardrobe. "Very well. What coats _do_ I have?" 

"I may be your High Advisor and Blessed Right Hand," Merle said, "but I am not your coat-wrangler. What coats _do_ you have?" 

Van shot her an amused glance. "I don't remember. But, then again, _I'm_ not the one responsible for getting me to the ball on time." 

"Ugh," Merle said, flouncing to her feet. "You are the worst liege." 

"Yes, I know," Van said as she joined him in front of the wardrobe and started poking and plucking at its contents.

"What about this?" Merle said, extracting a bright yellow sleeve from the mass of clothes in the wardrobe. 

Van wrinkled his nose. "That coat? I don't know. I think it makes me look a little fat." 

"Oh, may the gods preserve me," Merle snarled as she yanked the yellow coat free from the wardrobe. "We are past such aesthetic considerations. This coat is neither stained nor ripped nor traded away for a horrid hat--" 

"That was a good hat," Van protested. "I mean, at least it was until I lost it in that card game." 

"--and given our limited options, it will be perfectly sufficient for this ball. Which we should be getting to. To avoid _being any later than we already are_." 

"Fine," Van said. "Here, help me into this coat." 

With some pushing and prodding and creative swearing from Merle, they managed to get Van into the yellow coat, although it was a tight fit. Van regarded himself critically in the mirror. 

"Are you sure...?" he started.

"It's _fiiiiine_ ," Merle hissed. "Now come on, my king. Or the ball is going to end before you arrive." 

"That's a bit unlikely," Van said as he trailed her out into the long hallway. "I mean, it seems like these things go on for hours. Days. Maybe months. I don't know why my council insists on celebrating every state event or commemoration with a ball. Do they secretly just love to dance?" 

Merle gave him a heavy-lidded stare. "Your Majesty. Please. They're hoping you'll find a bride." 

Van stopped. "What?" 

She snorted. "Come on. You must have guessed? Why do you think they keep throwing these balls to celebrate the opening of the new fish market? Or the anniversary of the time one of your ancestors opened a historic fish market? It's not because they happen to love _fish markets_ , Van. It's so they can keep inviting all the noble women that they scrounge up and throw in your way." 

Merle's pace did not slacken, and after a moment., Van strode along beside her in his slightly too-tight yellow coat. 

"I didn't guess _that_ , Merle. But I can't think that they're going to be too successful in their aspirations. Since my affections are already claimed." 

Merle snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

“I’m not being ridiculous,” Van said serenely. “I am a king, and there are precious few perks to the job, but I insist on choosing whom I love. And I have chosen.” 

"There lies one solution," Merle said. "You could just marry Hitomi." 

"No," Van said easily, because this was an old conversation between the two of them. "Neither of us want that. She is bound to the obligations of her world, just as I am bound to mine." 

Merle snorted again. 

"Of course," Van said, "Hitomi thinks it would make everyone's life easier if I just married you."

"No," Merle said promptly, because this was also an old conversation between the two -- or three -- of them. "I have no desire to be entangled in the nonsense of royalty." 

"It’s not all terrible,” Van said. “Some of it involves eating soup in bed in fancy coats.” 

Merle sighed. "Of course, your council is worried that you're going to marry me anyway. Which is why they're not too pleased you've raised me up as your High Advisor and Blessed Right Hand. They suspect it's the preliminary step before even greater things." Her mouth twisted ironically. "As if being a queen was my life's ambition." 

Van swore. "Have they given you any trouble? You didn't tell me--" 

"They haven't given me any trouble," Merle said. "But they're skeptical. That's why I have to prove myself." She shot him an aggrieved look. "That's why I would have preferred to have gotten you to the ball on time. It would have been a token gesture of my general competence." 

There was a long silence from Van. "Sorry," he said at last. "I didn't realize..." 

"Don't worry about it," Merle said. "After all, after they see you in _this_ yellow resplendence, they're going to forget entirely about my shortcomings." 

Van grimaced as he pushed open the door at the end of the hall. "Yes, I am a little afraid of that. Oh, hello! I didn't realize you were here. I thought you wouldn’t be back until the winter." 

This last part was addressed to the woman with close-cropped hair who was speaking to a maid in the antechamber. 

“Thank you,” Hitomi was saying to the maid, who curtseyed at Van’s approach. “Don’t worry about looking for it, because I really do think I know where it is.”

Van enfolded her in a tight hug. “This is a pleasant surprise,” he said against her hair. “Are you staying for the ball?”

"Oh, hi, um, well, I'm not--is that what you're wearing to your ball, Van?" 

Van pulled back to give her an injured look.

"Yes, he is," Merle said. "Because it's the one coat he hasn’t ruined, and now he is being _punished_." 

"I've learned my lesson," Van said. "Apparently I'm awfully rough with my clothes. But to be fair, Hitomi, your attire leaves something to be desired as far as ballroom attire is concerned." 

Hitomi laughed. She was wearing blue jeans and a pale T-shirt. "I'm afraid that I can't attend your ball; I've got a final tomorrow in Organic Chemistry, so I have to spend tonight studying. I just came briefly to pick up some notes that I forgot here last week." 

"It's a long way to come for some notes," Van said in surprise. 

Hitomi grimaced in embarrassment. "Yes, I know. That's kinda why I just wanted to slip in and out without seeing you, because I knew it would be awkward to explain." She laughed. "I guess I just got very superstitious about the final, and I just _needed_ the notes." 

"How'd you get here without Van?" Merle asked curiously. "I thought one of you needed to be holding your grandmother's pendant in order to go zapping off to the Mystic Moon." 

Van and Hitomi exchanged an enigmatic glance. "Sometimes," Van said. "But sometimes not." 

"Fine," Merle said, unable to entirely conceal her irritation. As usual, when it seemed like it seemed that everything was open and acknowledged and accepted between the three of them, all of sudden she'd stumble across something private and secret between the two of them. "Fine, don't tell me." 

"It's just that we don't entirely understand, either," Hitomi said in a placating tone. "Sometimes it works, and sometimes...it doesn't. Sometimes one of us has to be holding the pendant, and sometimes...not. I think today's journey might have had something to do with how worried I am about this final. I think having strong emotions may have something to do with it." 

"Huh," Merle said. "How are you going to get back? Do you need to create another strong emotion?" 

"It won't be difficult," Hitomi said with a smile. "I am pretty worried about that final exam."

"Oh, right," Van said. "I think I saw your notebook on the window seat." He rubbed his hands together. "Well, come on, clearly we've got to go back to my dressing room and get them." 

Merle glared at him. "No, _I'll_ go get them, you need to go ahead to your ball, because you're already _late_." 

Hitomi shrugged. "Yes, of course, don't trouble yourself--" 

"It's no trouble," Van said, reaching out one hand to seize Hitomi's hand and the other to seize Merle's paw. "I mean, it's organic chemistry. That's important." He began pulling them both back into the hallway, and -- after exchanging an identically long-suffering look with one another -- they reluctantly allowed themselves to be pulled along. 

"You don't even know what organic chemistry is," Merle said accusingly. 

"Of course I do," Van said. "It's the chemistry of organs, obviously." 

"Well..." Hitomi murmured.

"You're not going to escape going to this ball, Van," Merle said. 

"Can't I?" Van said. "I am the king, after all. Surely that has to be good for something." His grasp tightened, with one hand gripped around long, cool fingers and the other around warm fur. "I give almost all of myself to my country, but surely I am allowed to be tyrannical and selfish and inconsiderate in _some_ small corner of my own life."

"Sure," Merle said, "but I am your High Advisor and Blessed Right Hand, and you should listen to me. And I tell you that you have to go to this ball." 

Van laughed. "Fine. For I am nothing if not obedient to your wise and loving counsel.”


End file.
